For a better Florida: Reform deferred The workers' compensation system is broken, and other insurance rates are soaring. Fixes that de-emphasize costly litigation may help, but deeper reforms seem unlikely.

Exit strategy: World looks for a way out For weeks now, as the talk of war has mounted and confidence in stocks has plunged, news pages have been rife with references to exit strategies: Does President Bush have an exit strategy for getting out of Iraq? Do you have an exit strategy for getting out of the market?

For a Better Florida: Patients' rights left out of malpractice debate As doctors and lawyers battle over a proposed cap on medical malpractice awards, the people affected -- patients -- often remain in the dark about what happened to them and why.

Editorial: Shell games This is the entire text of Florida Senate Bill 1140: "The Legislature intends to revise environmental laws."

Editorial: For a better Florida: The terms of the debate By insisting the budget cannot grow, Gov. Jeb Bush is trying to limit the Legislature's options. But Florida can't afford to leave schools and families behind.

Bill Maxwell: Language police use excessive force As an African-American male, as a writer and a teacher, I am keenly aware of hurtful language: words, names, phrases and descriptions that stereotype and dehumanize.

Martin Dyckman: U.S. testosterone and intolerance TALLAHASSEE -- A Pentagon honcho named Thomas K. Jones once scared everybody witless by saying the nation could recover easily from a nuclear war "if there are enough shovels to go around." From that day to this, nothing has been so disconcerting as the present advice (from the same government that let Osama bin Laden get away) to protect ourselves from terrorism with plastic sheeting and duct tape.

Robyn Blumner: Ashcroft line on Al-Arian doesn't fly Attorney General John Ashcroft had nothing but praise for the USA Patriot Act following the indictment of University of South Florida professor Sami Al-Arian on terrorism charges. The prosecution, he suggested, couldn't have happened without the new law.